The savage peoples of the Hijáz, before that Flame of
supreme Prophethood was lit in the lamp of Mecca, were the most brutish and
benighted of all the peoples of the earth. In all the histories, their depraved
and vicious practices, their ferocity and their constant feuds, are a matter of
record. In those days the civilized peoples of the world
did not even consider the Arab tribes of Mecca and Medina as human beings. And
yet, after the Light of the World rose over them, they were—because of the
education bestowed on them by that Mine of perfections, that Focal Center of
Revelation, and the blessings vouchsafed by the Divine Law—within a brief
interval gathered into the shelter of the principle of Divine oneness. This
brutish people then attained such a high degree of human perfection and
civilization that all their contemporaries marveled at them. Those very peoples
who had always mocked the Arabs and held them up to ridicule as a breed devoid
of judgment, now eagerly sought them out, visiting their countries to acquire
enlightenment and culture, technical skills, statecraft, arts and sciences.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)
